"They can't censor the gleam in my eye."
British-
American actor (1899-1962). He was a
round guy with
sleepy eyes and
chubby lips -- he looked like he was born to play
portly English butlers and portly English
noblemen and portly English
MoPs, but he was able to play a wide
variety of characters,
comic and
dramatic,
heroes and
villains, both on
film and on the
stage.
Born in the
Victoria Hotel in
Scarborough, Yorkshire, Laughton actually started out as a
hotel clerk before enrolling in the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after
World War I. He made his
debut on the
London stage in 1926 and, while starring in a
play called "
Alibi" in 1928, was the first actor to portray
Agatha Christie's
supersleuth Hercule Poirot.
Laughton started making some short film comedies in 1928. He met and married actress
Elsa Lanchester in 1929, and they traveled to
America in 1931 to perform in a play (and its
film adaptation) called "
Payment Deferred." He was quickly getting regular work in
Hollywood, appearing in "
The Old Dark House," "
The Sign of the Cross" (as
Emperor Nero), "
Jamaica Inn," "
The Island of Lost Souls" (as
Dr. Moreau), "
Mutiny on the Bounty" (
Oscar-nominated for playing
Captain Bligh), and "
Les Miserable" (as
Javert).
Laughton won an
Academy Award for "
The Private Life of Henry VIII" and received
acclaim for "
Ruggles of Red Gap," "
Rembrandt," "
The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "
The Canterville Ghost," and "
Captain Kidd." After
World War II, he also turned in well-received performances in "
The Big Clock," "
The Man on the Eiffel Tower," and "
Young Bess" (playing
Henry VIII for the second time).
Laughton
directed only one
film: the haunting
thriller "
The Night of the Hunter," starring
Robert Mitchum,
Shelley Winters, and
Lillian Gish, in 1955. In my opinion, this
movie is an
outstanding example of
film noir --
tense,
dark,
shadowy, and
exciting but also
lyrical,
dreamlike, and undeniably
beautiful. Mitchum once said that Laughton was the best
director he'd ever worked for. Laughton directed no more films, and that's a
pity. He continued
acting, however, appearing in "
Witness for the Prosecution" (another Oscar nomination for that one), "
Spartacus," and "
Advise and Consent," his last film.
He died of
cancer on December 15, 1962, in
Hollywood.
Addendum: dannye sez:
"I don't know if you ever saw the 'I, Claudius' series, but we just got finished with the DVD set. The last one has an extra called 'The Epic that Never Was' where Charles Laughton plays the role of Claudius in a movie version that never got finished. Very interesting stuff. Some of the scenes from what is left are comically bad, and some are just overwhelming." I don't know what it is, but Laughton did indeed seem to have a
talent for playing
Roman emperors...
Research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and from enjoying good movies.